Scholarship

Jessica Mills, 2007-08 Edward & Helen Leon Scholarship recipient

Edward and Helen Leon Scholarship

Helen Leon was born in Raymond, Alberta, Canada and graduated from high school in
Vancouver. She and her husband, Edward, were married in New York by Elder Earl C.
Tingey, who was their Bishop at the time. "I always knew Edward would join the church,"
says Helen which he did, just five years later. They lived in New York for over
20 years. Following Edward's passing, Helen retired to Orlando, Florida.

A lawyer by profession, Edward was co-founder of the Children's Blood Foundation
at Cornell Medical Center (now New York Presbyterian Hospital). Helen served on
the foundation board of Orlando Regional Medical Center, Orlando, FL. She and Edward
enjoyed traveling abroad, and she remembers a month-long stay in Africa as one of
their favorite excursions.

The Leons are parents of a son, whose daughter, Aliisa is an airline stewardess
and hopes to study law at BYU. Helen loves to visit BYU whenever possible and especially
enjoys attending the annual Women's Conference. Reading and sewing are favorite
hobbies, but being with her grandchildren surpasses all other interests.

Neither Edward nor Helen attended BYU; however, because of their keen interest in
the American Indian Program sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints in the 1970s and their desire to provide the means by which native Americans
could receive a nursing education, the Leons established the Edward and Helen Leon
Scholarship, to be awarded to students of American Indian descent. Thirty years
later, their generosity continues to bless many lives.